Coming Apart
by goblz
Summary: One-shot fic. How did the other Ducks learn about Hans' death? How did they react? Written in Connie's POV.


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks, or any of the characters. I do not make any profit from this, it is purely for my enjoyment.**

**Thanks to Schiz for beta'ing this for me! *hugs***

**A/N: I decided to write this because in D3, you only see Charlie find out about Hans. So I wondered, how did everyone else react? And considering what else was going on at the time, what repercussions might his death have had that the movie didn't deal with? This came out a little differently than I thought it would but I still like it. =) I hope you like it as well.**

**Coming Apart**

Connie knew something was wrong when Coach Orion gathered the team on the ice without their hockey gear. As he came out to join them, the somber look on his face made her heart sink into her stomach. _It must be bad news,_ she thought, frowning. Dozens of scenarios of what could be wrong raced through her head about what could be wrong. Something could have happened to Bombay, or to Charlie.

With every passing moment of silence, Connie found herself more and more anxious. The rising tension as the other Ducks also waited nervously and Orion's struggle to find words didn't help.

"Coach?" Goldberg finally broke through the silence, his eyebrows raised.

Goldberg's inquiry finally pushed Orion to speak. "I just got off the phone with Charlie's mom," Orion started, realizing as the team took a collective gasp his bad choice of words. "Charlie's okay," he informed them quickly. Here he paused again, driving Connie nearly mad. "It's Hans. He had a heart attack last night and was found this morning…" the coach trailed off before saying the word "dead." He knew by their expressions, some shocked, some in disbelief, but nearly all of them devastated, that they could figure it out for themselves. "I'm sorry. Listen, practice is cancelled for today. Why don't you all just take it easy this afternoon, all right?"

After he'd left, Dwayne turned to Russ. "He didn't mean that…"

"Hans is gone," Russ told him patiently. The cowboy nodded slowly and bowed his head.

Connie stood in her place, stunned, as her teammates around her moved to comfort each other. Hans was dead? No, that couldn't be. It was impossible. As long as the Ducks were together, Hans was supposed to be there, their everlasting pillar of strength. He had even become that way for the new Ducks, when they'd met after the Junior Goodwill Games. How could he not be here anymore?

"You okay Cons?" a gentle, concerned voice echoed in her ears, drawing her from her shell-shocked state.

It was Guy. She looked into his caring eyes, remembering all the times in the last year when she had been so mean to him. He hadn't even done anything to deserve it—no, they had broken up because of her, and she had let him pay for her mistakes long after he had stopped blaming her; long after he was past being mean to her. Spitefulness was not in his nature, and it shamed her that she couldn't say the same about herself.

Behind those concerned eyes Connie could see the tears he was fighting off. Hans had been special to them all, and that included her ex-boyfriend. Words she had told him once, nearly a year ago, came back to her, taunting her. Words that had hurt him but now they both perhaps could draw out of it some sort of strength or comfort.

_"I hope one day we can be friends…"_

As her eyes filled up with tears, Connie could find no words to give Guy an answer. Instead, she took him by surprise by wrapping her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

She could feel him tense up, mostly from astonishment at her actions. They hadn't been this close to each other since their break-up. A sob caught on her throat as the reality of Hans' death started to hit her. Then she could feel Guy relax and he put his arms around her as well. She could hear his hitched breathing, belying his strength. If there was one thing Guy hated to do, it was cry.

A pair of arms from behind her enclosed both Ducks, and from the cologne Connie knew it was Luis. As the others joined in the hugs, Connie finally broke out and cried loudly. She closed her eyes and laid her head on Guy's shoulder, hearing the cries of the others around her.

As they broke apart, Guy pulled away quickly from Connie and she couldn't deny to herself that it hurt, but she couldn't help but understand. She found herself looking at Julie, whose eyes were red and swollen from her tears.

"Do Charlie and Adam know?" Fulton asked, breaking the silence once more. They all just looked at each other, the reminder of their lost teammates still stinging.

"Charlie's going to be crushed," Guy replied, and they all knew it was true.

"So will Coach Bombay," Russ added. "It's only been six months since Jan died."

This was met with more silence. Jan was Hans' brother, and he was there with the Ducks for the Junior Goodwill Games, since Hans was at the time visiting their mother. He was the one who had united the new and old ducks, although it was Hans who had kept this unity afterwards. In less than a year the Ducks were without them both.

"First Jan died, then Bombay left us," Averman said aloud, mostly to himself but everyone listened. "Adam joined Varsity, and then Charlie left the team. Now Hans is dead." He looked sadder than Connie had ever seen. "What is becoming of our team?"

Connie sighed, loath to think about what he was getting at. What else was going to happen to their beloved team? They were in a snobby school where none of them felt they belonged and it seemed that their team, which was now called the Junior Varsity Warriors instead of the Ducks, was coming apart at the seams.

She made eye contact with Guy and he looked away quickly. Connie thought about Adam, who was here at this school but no longer a part of their group. Friendships had been sacrificed in favor of pride, and yet they all told themselves that the Ducks flew together no matter what. One thing was sure, Connie was not ready to move on without the Ducks. That was not supposed to happen yet.

The door leading to the locker room opened and Adam emerged, looking unsure of himself. Connie couldn't blame him, with what happened at the "game" between the Ducks and the Varsity. The Ducks had made it clear to Adam that he was not one of them anymore.

No one moved. Adam stared at his former teammates, and they all stared back, everyone uncertain of what to do, what to say. Taking a deep breath Adam slowly approached the team. "Your coach tracked me down," he informed them, his voice thick with emotion. "I—," he took a deep breath. "I want to come back. I want to rejoin you guys. Orion said it was okay with him. Is it okay with all of you?"

Julie answered for everyone by stepping out and embracing him. Everyone slapped five with him to welcome him back, glad of a distraction and glad to have one of the Ducks back with them.

"This doesn't feel the same," Adam commented when they had all settled down again.

"It's not the same," Connie replied, her frown matching his. "Things will never be the same."

**The End**

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